Fighter Jets

from 1944 to the present

While superior to piston-driven aircraft from the start, fighter jets have evolved from tempermental, single-seat, subsonic, machine-gun equipped fighters to vastly more powerful supersonic craft equipped with smart missiles and global reach.

FIRST GENERATION: 1944 - 1952

The Germans and the British were the first to develop operational jets, the Me 262 and the Gloster Meteor, and the Americans and Soviets were not far behind.

The first jets typically flew at 500 to 600 MPH, carried a single pilot, and frequently had straight wings. As they approached the sound barrier, they encountered the problem of compressibility, which was poorly understood at the time; later, swept-back wings and other modifications enabled jets to deal with this.

SECOND GENERATION: 1953 - 1960

Nukes, afterburners, smaller radars, and guided missiles were the key advances of second generation jets, which typically could fly at supersonic speeds.

Lessons learned from the Korean War and the need to operate in a nuclear warfare environment shaped the technology of this era. Advances in aerodynamics, propulsion, and aluminium alloys permitted designers to innovate with swept wings, delta wings, and area-ruled fuselages. Afterburners made these the first production aircraft to break the sound barrier, and many of these could sustain supersonic speeds in level flight.